I cannot express how overwhelmed I was by the incredible response to this mystery sampler! You all have been so kind and generous with your encouragement, and I am very thankful. And I'm very  excited for all of us to begin!

I worked ahead a week or two, and will continue to do so (hopefully), in order to work out any kinks and give you a heads up to anything I may do differently than what the chart calls for. But again, you're all free to make your own design and color decisions, because this will be your sampler anyway!

If any of you decide to stitch on black fabric, here are a few things to keep in mind (this will apply to those who have never stitched on black before, or have heard how challenging it can be).. stitch in natural light, or use a daylight light bulb (you can find these in Walmart or Target or home improvement stores.. they specifically say "daylight" on them, and emit a whiter light than regular bulbs, which are yellow). A hoop is also helpful for opening up those holes, and I find that placing something white on my lap – like the chart page – is helpful to see through the fabric holes.

As I said, I will be trying to stitch ahead of you; and that being the case, I've already found a change you may want to make if you're stitching on black… I'll list any changes at the bottom of the post each week. If you happen to find any errors or problems with the chart as you're stitching, I'd like to apologize ahead of time. There are definite advantages to having model stitchers who will tell you what does and doesn't work, but in this case, I'm jumping in with everyone else!

Let's begin! And thank you again for all of your kind words this week!

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IMPORTANT: The images below will not print properly if you click and print from them. Please use the links provided at the very bottom of each post to download the PDF for printing. You may also choose to use your monitor as your chart and forego any printing at all. (This will allow you to make the chart as large as you need it to be!)

ALSO NOTE: While some motifs may be identical in both samplers, please keep in mind that their placement is different. Remember to check to see that you're printing and following the correct chart each week.

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Here is my progress from this week.. I've had to blur out the bits from next week! The changes I made were these:

1. My particular skein of Portabella was a little too light to be used next to Sea Gull in Joseph and Mary's robes (this doesn't apply to those of you using the original color key!), so I switched to the color Old Hickory for this motif and like it much better.

2. Mary's hair flows right into her robe on the original key, but on black fabric, the Sea Gull makes her look like she's got gray hair. I changed her hair color back to Espresso Bean/3371 and am satisfied. 🙂

3. This isn't so much a change as it is an error: I miscounted and stitched Joseph one square too far over to the left. Instead of removing my stitching, I decided to compensate and stitch each of their hands with two Adobe/3773 stitches instead of just one.

HERE ARE THE LINKS IF YOU ARE STITCHING MARY'S SAMPLER I:

Download Week 1 Scripture

Download Mary's Sampler INSTRUCTIONS AND KEY

Download SMS Week 1 PRINTOUT

HERE ARE THE LINKS FOR STITCHING MARY'S SAMPLER II:

Download Week 1 Scripture

Download Mary's Sampler II INSTRUCTIONS AND KEY

Download SMS II Wk 1 PRINTOUT

As I was saying on Facebook, here are a few answers to some of the emails I've received this week:

1. Anyone can participate, no matter where you are, as long as you have internet service. There is no need to sign up for anything – just grab your supplies and join in!

2. The colors I listed originally will work for both Mary's Sampler I and II, but if you're going ot use black linen, I suggest following the substitutions I posted or coming up with something of your own choosing, as the original colors may not show up well on the black fabric.

3. Sections for both Mary's Sampler I and II will be posted each week. Although they look identical, their placement is different, so print out the chart you want to follow. Both charts will remain on the blog for as long as my blog exists, and will not be published for sale.

See you tomorrow!